English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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From Kodak, the trademarked brand name of the camera and film company, which became a generic term through everyday use.

A shortening of "Prudential" or of the given name "Prudence."

From Otto Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962), a key organizer of the Holocaust, whose trial made his name a byword for bureaucratic obedience to atrocity.

From Old English Tese, of uncertain origin, possibly linked to a Brythonic word for "heat", referencing the river's churning waters.

Probably a blend of "yuck" or "yech" with "sheesh."

From Hawaiian and Maori moana, meaning "sea, ocean."

Borrowed from Hawaiian Keanu.

A variant spelling of Deighton. * Most of the placenames are derived from the surname; or another place named Dayton, that in turn is derived from the surname.

From Japanese 河合 or Japanese 川合.

From the Hawaiian name Pele.

From Japanese 級 (kyū), meaning "grade" or "class."

From bat + girl, modelled on "Batman."

From super- + girl, popularised by the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl, who debuted in 1959.

From the surname of Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who first described the effect in 1842.

Borrowed directly from Italian.

Borrowed from French Alcide; this surname is predominantly found in Haiti.

The compound was first described in a 1934 chemistry paper; the informal verb usage developed decades later, popularized by crime shows.

From Latin retardare, "to make slow," from re- + tardus ("slow").

From Old French adversité, from Latin adversitās, based on adversus, "turned against."

Borrowed from Dhivehi, the language of the Maldives, where dōni refers to this style of boat.

From the Latin "vita," meaning life.

From Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Luciana. By surface analysis, Lucia /Lucie /Lucy + -ana.

From Max + -ie.

The place name comes from lime kilns once operated there; the verb sense recalls a fiery 1909 speech given in the district by Chancellor David Lloyd George.